Pods of Aliens
by AstroPhantom
Summary: A collection of my Voltron: Legendary Defender one-shots, designed to let you sleep for 10,000 years or fly in space. Either way, enjoy!
1. Select Your Pod (Chapter List)

**Welcome to my _Voltron: Legendary Defender_ one-shots!**

This is a collection of my one-shots for _Voltron: Legendary Defender_ (similar to my _Shots of Ectoplasm_ for _Danny Phantom_ and _Particles of Gravity_ for _Gravity Falls_. If you're looking for either of those, you're at the wrong bar).

Pods will be available for all sorts of use, including most events I do, so turn on the cryogenic process to chill and enjoy! Unless you're in a flying pod, in which case strap yourself in before enjoying!

* * *

 **Pods of Aliens ::: Select Your Pod**

** _\- Denotes fic that gives these shots their M-rating (just in case)._

 _Ch. 2-8_ : **Coran Week 2016**

2\. **The Sacred Altean**  
3\. **Pulse**  
4\. **Promises**  
5\. _In progress..._  
6\. _In progress..._  
7\. _In progress..._  
8\. _In progress..._

 _Ch. 9-?_ : **To be determined...**

9\. _In progress..._

* * *

Remember: if you sleep in it, you clean it. :)


	2. The Sacred Altean

**The Sacred Altean - Coran Week 2016 Day 1: Baby/Young Coran**

* * *

"I'm gonna find you all!"

Young Coran giggled playfully as he started to hop down the outdoor steps leading up to the mighty Castle of Lions. The exterior had been completed just days prior, and interior construction had already begun.

Coran and some other Altean children had been instructed to go play outside and just within the front entrance hall to minimize the risk of an accident. It was then that one of them suggested playing hide-and-seek, causing the rest of the group to smile excitedly.

Seeing as how his grandfather was the one building the castle, the other children elected Coran to search for them during the first round.

So far, he wasn't having any luck finding anybody outside, until one of the huge potted plants lining the main walkway seemed to wiggle and he found Prince Alfor hiding inside it.

"Got ya, Alfor!" Coran laughed, peeking his head in the shrubbery. His friend was crouched on the dirt, covering his head as if it would help.

Alfor tilted his head up and groaned at Coran's cheeky grin. "Oh, come on! I thought a long time about this spot."

"Yeah, well, not long enough. Here." Coran held his hand out to help him up and out of the bush. They stumbled forward on the pavement as the prince jumped down from the plant. "Alright. I'm going to go find the rest now. Come help me?"

Alfor nodded and the two boys started to run around the walkway in search of the rest of their friends, laughing the whole way.

Hilo was the only other one hiding outside. He'd shifted himself into a bright pink color so he could lie down and blend in with the blossoming juniberries surrounding the castle. But after doing a double-take, Coran could easily see his body popping out from the landscape.

Koa and his cousin, Makulu were inside the entrance hall, both hiding underneath the grand staircase in a small alcove. They tried to keep quiet, but by doing so they only made themselves giggle even more. Alfor heard them first, nudging Coran and Hilo in the sides to direct their attention. They snuck up on the cousins and, on Coran's mark, jumped out in front of them. Koa screamed, while Makulu jumped out of fright and banged her head against the wall of the alcove.

"Quiznak!" Makulu yelped, rubbing her scalp. She glared up at the trio, who gasped at her choice of words.

"Makulu, hush!" Koa directed, trying to calm his heart rate. "You'll get in trouble again if someone catches you saying that!"

His cousin just rolled her eyes as the others helped them to stand up. After they brushed off their uniforms, Koa asked, "So who'd you find first, Coran?"

"Alfor," he answered, jerking his thumb to his left and turning towards his best friend. "Which means it's your turn to count!"

Alfor groaned up into the air, "Fiiiiine!" He made his way outside to lean up against the wall of the castle and shield his eyes while he counted in Altean.

The rest of the group immediately began to scramble. Coran laughed as Koa and Hilo made a mad dash outside past Alfor, but didn't quite catch where Makulu disappeared off to. Instead, he focused on finding his own hiding spot.

Surprisingly, there weren't actually too many spots in the hall besides the staircase, but that would be obvious. Coran looked around frantically, feeling rushed as he heard Alfor counting away the seventeen ticks.

It was too late to run outside. Coran twisted his head around, spinning until he saw his saving grace - the pod hangar! Its door just off to the side of the entrance hall was wide open, beckoning him. Technically, it didn't count as part of the hall, but then again, no one had explicitly said it was off-limits.

Coran chuckled at his newfound loophole and ran through the open door. The hangar was empty of people, thankfully, since it had been constructed and completed before the exterior of the castle had even been started.

That said, since there were no construction materials lying around, he would have to hide behind a pod. Or _in_ one.

Coran grinned as his eyes settled on a pod who's hatch had been left opened. He rarely got to go in a pod, much less actually explore their controls and inner workings, so this could be his big chance to do so.

Oh so carefully, he climbed up on the wing and into the pod, slumping into the co-pilot's seat. He stared up immediately at the dashboard, enthralled with its craftsmanship and all the buttons and screens, but took care to not actually press any. He knew one day he would get his chance, but until then he wanted to learn as much as he could.

Several rounds of ticks passed as he studied the dashboard carefully, until he heard a distant bang and footsteps begin to approach the pod. Coran quickly ducked behind his seat, crawling into the backseat area of the pod and hiding behind a storage trunk. He covered his head with his arms, hoping his glowing markings on them wouldn't give him away, and waited, listening.

It wouldn't take Alfor long to realize that Coran was in the pod. The rest of the hangar was easy to scan and this was the only open one.

What _Coran_ failed to realize until it was too late was that it was _not_ Alfor coming in to check the pod for him. He should've heard it sooner. Only one Altean walked with that kind of manic purpose in their footsteps, and even so Coran should've known something was up when the pod roared to life and hovered into the air.

Seren, Coran's grandfather, was flying the pod.

Coran felt his heart rate go up. He'd flown with his grandfather before, but it was always with other people and usually just a casual flight. Alone, his flights were usually missions for project materials, and were notoriously known for their more rushed, wild piloting. He'd always wanted to join him on one of these missions. He just didn't want to be behind a storage trunk for it.

Even though it would give his hiding spot away, Coran unwrapped his arms and scrambled up to grab onto the back of the seat in front of him. Sure enough, there was his grandfather in the pilot's seat at the front, his hair sticking out at the sides. The pod was already flying up through the Altea atmosphere. He needed to strap himself in as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, that meant having to reveal himself as a stowaway.

Coran steadied himself as he made his way up to the cockpit, drawing in a breath before he announced himself as calmly as he could. "Pops?"

Seren yelped and nearly jumped straight through the hatch door when Coran spoke. His hands knocked the controls to the side, causing the pod to veer to the left before he grabbed them and straightened out his flight with expertise. Coran stumbled during this, but managed to keep one hand gripped on the back of the passenger seat.

"Coran! What the quiznak are you doing, my boy?!" Seren's eyes were shielded by his goggles, but Coran knew there was a wild and crazy look flaring through them right now.

"I-I was just hiding in here because my friends and I were playing. I didn't know you were going to use the pod," he answered, his cheeks blushing in embarrassment.

Seren eyed him carefully, then shook his head. "I'm taking you back to the castle."

"No!" Coran immediately cried out, reaching halfway towards the controllers before pulling his hand back. He took a moment to gather his thoughts in his head. "I mean…I'd like to go with you, Pops, if that's okay."

"I can't. Your mother will never let me hear the end of it if something happens to you."

Coran looked down at his feet, then back up at his grandfather. "But…I want to learn about whatever you're doing. And flying!" he began, his voice sounding braver the more he spoke. "You always get to go on amazing adventures and explore places! I want to do that, too."

After a long silent round of deliberation, Seren sighed in resignation. Coran was a determined boy, that was certain, but he figured it would be nice to have his grandson along for an otherwise humdrum trip.

"Alright, you can come," Seren said, smiling slightly when Coran let out a small, ' _Yes!_ ' "Just sit down and strap yourself in, okay?"

Coran did as he was told, sitting in the right backseat and reaching for the straps before Seren cut him off.

"What are you doing?" his grandfather asked, looking away from the dashboard. Coran just gave him a confused blank stare, prompting him to continue with, "Get up here and sit in the co-pilot's seat. I'm going to start teaching you how to fly, my boy."

The smile on Coran's face could have powered a dozen castles. He abandoned the backseat and climbed into the co-pilot's seat, feeling a surge of pride as he settled in and secured the strap around his waist. He looked up at his grandfather, who was beaming at him.

"Right then, my co-captain!" Seren declared, leaning forward to point at the dashboard. "You see these numbers on the screen here? They tell you your altitude, speed, and fuel supply, for starters…"

Seren spent the next several minutes guiding Coran through the basics of how the pod worked while also steering it towards his destination. He even let Coran take control of the pod for a brief few seconds, being surprisingly impressed with the boy's coordination.

Inevitably, Coran eventually asked, "Pops, where are we actually going?"

"Oh! The answer's even better than flying! We're going to a Balmera!" the older Altean said, returning his right hand to the controls.

Coran secretly doubted that anything could be better than flying, but he still continued with his curious questions. "What's a Balmera?"

Seren brought a picture up on the pod's central screen. "You see this crystal? It's going to power the Castle of Lions when it's completed. I have to go get it though at a Balmera, which grows them."

Coran looked out to his right just in time to see a huge looming celestial object veer into view. "Whoa…is that planet it?"

"Yes, but not quite," Seren explained, chuckling. "It's a gigantic living creature that's been petrified. It produces the crystals for anyone to use, but in return those that take them need to give energy back to it."

"And how do they do that?"

"I'll show you when we get there. Look out your window again for now though," he said, sticking his arm out to point past Coran's nose.

Coran turned his head and his jaw dropped. They had entered the Balmeran atmosphere, and from here he could see the sparkling surface of the creature. Crystals jutted out from every which way, making it sparkle a mesmerizing silvery-blue color that shone brilliantly from every direction like ice. He pressed his face up against the window, completely enthralled.

"Incredible…" he whispered, taken by the sheer beauty of it all.

Seren smiled over at him as he maneuvered the pod down onto the surface, landing just next to a couple of towering pillars that seemed to overlook everything.

By the time the pod's systems had cooled down and Seren had gathered what he needed to from the backseat, night was beginning to fall on the Balmera. In turn, the crystals began to glow, lighting everything up across the surface.

Coran jumped out of the pod and landed on the ground with a light thud, brushing nonexistent dust off his thighs. When he looked back up, his jaw dropped. The sight was even more spectacular up close.

"Off we go, Coran, my boy!" Seren shouted, trying to keep things moving. If there was one thing that could be said about him, it was that he was always in motion. Even now, he was already a good distance away from the pod, a determined aura about him.

As he shook off his daze and caught up with his grandfather, Coran noticed that his every step seemed to make the ground glow even brighter. It boggled his mind that such a unique thing as a Balmera existed.

The duo eventually reached their ultimate destination after hiking through several areas of crystals both big and small, some larger than their pod.

Seren had a particular image in mind for the crystal he had come for. It needed to be rather symmetrical in its curves and be about the diameter of the ship's control podium - the definition of a standard battleship-class crystal.

He stood proudly in front of the one he'd found nestled against another pillar. It was just a smidge taller than he'd prefer, but otherwise, it was perfect. He grinned and gestured for Coran to come closer. The boy did so, walking to within a few footsteps of their prize so that he was standing next to his grandfather.

"Alright, my boy," Seren said, raising his goggles onto his head while sizing up the crystal with his eyes. "We need to excavate this crystal, but first we need to give the Balmera back its energy like I told you about earlier with a rejuvenation ceremony. I've told you about quintessence, right?"

Coran looked down at the ground beneath his boots and nodded. He knew very well what quintessence was - Seren had told him about it when Coran's father had died in a flight accident a while back. He'd explained that the quintessence of his body had become one with Altea again, and would give the planet new life. Since then, Seren had taken quickly to being a father figure for his grandson.

"Good. Because that's what we're going to re-infuse the Balmera with, provided you have the…special touch," Seren explained, a playful glint streaking through his eyes in the dark as he watched Coran look up curiously at him.

"Special touch?"

Seren took a step forward towards the crystal and knelt down on one knee, ushering Coran to come closer still. He placed his right hand on his shoulder, the other against the crystal. The smooth surface pulsed brightly under his glove.

He nodded towards his hand. "You see, because I have the special touch, I can give the Balmera quintessence for its sacrifice, and take the crystal."

Coran looked from Seren's face to the crystal and back again, eyes filled with worry. "But what if you don't have the special touch?"

Seren closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head ever so slightly before saying, "Then you must never - EVER - take a crystal. It'd be a terribly selfish thing if someone did that. Those types of people must be stopped at all costs." He caught sight of the panic growing on Coran's face at this news. "But don't worry, my boy! I have the special touch, your father had it, and I'm sure you will, too. Want to see if you do?"

After a moment of hesitation, Coran nodded then asked, "What do I do?"

Seren readjusted his balance on his knee and straightened his back, nudging his grandson right up against the crystal. "Place both of your hands against the crystal like mine, just so." Coran did as he was told, and Seren continued to instruct, "Now _think_. Think about life, and how quintessence exists within us all. How it _connects_ us together in the universe as one."

Coran shut his eyes tightly and thought hard about what he said. With his father's memory still fresh in his mind, the process came all too easily, and he felt a surge of familiar energy course through his body and into his hands. He dared to take a peek, before popping his eyes open all the way and gasping out loud.

The crystal pulsed loudly under his skin, glowing brighter by the tick. He felt like it was answering his gesture, like the whole Balmera was _communicating_ with him through it. The steady thrum of energy in his hands left him wide-eyed in amazement. It was such a rush of the senses, but he found himself quickly adapting.

Seren's heart, meanwhile, was swelling over seeing his grandson possessing the same ability he did, and that so many generations of Alteans had before, including his own son. _If only he could see this moment now…_

Seren turned to Coran and smiled proudly. With a hushed excitement, he told him, "Coran, you did it! You have the special touch! My boy, _you_ are a sacred Altean!"

* * *

 _Yahoo! Finally getting going on Coran Week! I'm gonna do it! Heads-up: check out the tags on the Tumblr version of this fic for a bunch of notes and headcanons, and also Coran's friends names are Hawaiian words. Hilo means "new moon" (like the phase), Makulu means "Saturn," and Koa means "brave, bold, fearless." They sound Altean and are so cool. :)_

 _A super thank-you goes out to notllorstel on Tumblr, who's own Day 1 Coran Week entry partly inspired this fic! And of course thank you for letting me use Seren for Coran's grandfather! He's super fun to write!_


	3. Pulse

**Pulse - Coran Week 2016 Day 2: Boot Camp**

* * *

"Coran, aren't you done yet?"

It was nearly nightfall at the barracks. The purple shadow of an Altean sunset tinged Coran's cheeks from the window as he turned to face Koa, who was leaning against the doorframe to the sleep chamber, his arms crossed. He looked worn out, but still sported his signature playful smirk.

"Just a couple more rounds, Koa. I've got this and one other pod to clean," Coran answered. He gestured with his cleaning brush towards the two cryo-pods closest to him. He'd been assigned to clean all the pods in this chamber - all twelve of them - before the whole squad would be free for the night. But like always, he was insistent on taking his time and cleaning them _right_.

Koa sighed and pushed himself off the doorframe. "Well, hurry up. Hilo won't shut up about the Quiznik rematch and I wanna prove who's the champ once and for all," he said, then added with a grumble, "If he hadn't made me laugh I would've won last time."

Coran chuckled and turned back to the pods, fiddling with the handle of his brush. "I'll be right there, promise. Maybe see if you guys can set up the mat in the meantime."

"Fiiiiine," Koa whined over-dramatically, throwing his head back as he slumped down the hallway outside the chamber.

Coran waited until he heard the door at the end of the hall slide closed with a hiss before he returned to polishing the outer edge of the pod in front of him. As fun (and hilarious) as the impending game of Quiznik sounded, he was going to make sure these pods were so clean they'd looked like they were just installed brand new. After all, he was _so close_ to earning his first cleaning stripes. Surely this would cinch them.

Once he finished cleaning that pod, he pressed a button on its control panel and watched as it zoomed down into the ground out of sight. He then turned to his right and straightened his back.

One more.

The last pod, which had been left open so he could keep track of how many were left to clean, wasn't as dirty as the other pods had been, and would therefore require a little less effort. Still, Coran stared at it like it was some beast to conquer, that once done there would be the taste of victory waiting for him. He once tried to explain this method of motivation to the others in his squad, but they didn't get how someone could be so passionate about cleaning.

Just as he was about to step into the pod to start cleaning the inside, however, the front tip of his boot caught on the base of the pod. He felt his sense of balance escape him and he fell forward, flying face-first into the back wall of the pod. In an attempt to catch himself, his hands flailed about, unable to grab onto anything in time but just barely grazing the control panel on the edge as he went in.

And pressing the "Freeze" button by accident.

Just after Coran's leg crossed the threshold, the cover of the pod closed down around him, effectively trapping him.

Coran turned around and stared out the blue-tinted glass pane, sighing and slumping his shoulders. "Oh quiznak…"

There was a hint of panic bubbling in his chest, but it was overshadowed by something akin to annoyance. He'd heard stories of people falling into the pods all the time (he personally suspected that the threshold was too high), but with the diligence he cleaned them with, he never thought it would happen to himself.

The freezing process was already starting to settle into his skin. With his few final ticks of consciousness, Coran reassured himself that someone would come looking for him soon. After all, they needed him so they could start the game of Quiznik. It'd just be a few rounds in the pod.

Someone would come looking for him.

Right?

* * *

Coran was almost nearly right.

When Koa and Hilo opened the pod he was trapped in, and even before the cold began to wear off, the first thing Coran noticed was that the Altean sky out the window was completely dark. So he could deduce that he'd been in the pod for at least a good 20 rounds.

As he stepped across the threshold with the help of his friends, Coran laughed, explaining, "Believe it or not, I tripped and accidentally started the freezing process on my fall in." He leaned his hands on his knees, regaining his composure and realizing just how foolish he must've sounded. Then he noticed that no one else was laughing. "What?"

Coran's mirth changed to worry as he finally looked up and saw his friends' sad, sympathetic expressions staring back at him. "What? What's going on?"

Hilo gently placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke just as softly, "Alfor called from the Castle of Lions. He's, uh…he has some news for you. It isn't good."

Coran implored with his eyes for more information, but none came, and a sense of dread washed over him. It'd be a while since he'd talked to his best friend, since he was busy with official princely king-in-training duties and Coran was off at boot camp as a cadet. Alfor had told him he wished they could talk more often, but he promised he would personally relay any major news. Right now though, Coran had a feeling he didn't want to hear this news.

Hilo led Coran out of the sleep chamber, with Koa following behind. They made their way to the cadet lounge in the next building over, during which time Coran tried to internally predict what the news was, but no one particular scenario seemed more likely than the rest.

When the doors to the lounge slid open, Coran's eyes trailed over the room only to land on the back of Koa's cousin, Makulu, who was standing in front of a holographic screen floating above a panel of keyboards. Alfor's torso filled the screen. His shoulders were drawn down and he looked exhausted…and sad.

Makulu turned around when she heard the trio enter the room, and Coran wished that he wasn't seeing the tears welling up in her eyes. It broke his heart, and made him all the more worrisome. He hesitated as Koa and Hilo walked further in, before looking back at him to see why he stopped. "Guys…what's going on?" he asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

Hilo gestured to the screen and walked over to Makulu's side, leaving a spot for Coran to talk directly to his best friend.

"Guys?" Coran repeated, making his way over to the screen. Had it been any other moment, he would've been thrilled to see the prince of Altea. But now, he almost wished he was still trapped in the pod…and he hadn't even heard the news yet.

Alfor sighed wearily when he saw Coran. He tried to muster a sympathetic smile at seeing his friend, but it just made him look more depressed. He sighed again then began, "Coran, I…I have terrible news."

"So I've heard." As callous as the statement seemed to the moment, it sounded apprehensive, almost unwilling, in Coran's voice. His eyebrows furrowed in worry as he stared at the screen.

Another sigh. "Coran, there's no easy way to say this, but…there was a misunderstanding and, well…Seren got shot down. I'm so sorry, Coran, but your grandfather is dead."

Coran's world froze around him at Alfor's message. He suddenly felt like he'd been plunged into a dream, a terrible, terrible nightmare.

His grandfather, the man who had raised him, was dead.

His mind refused to fully process that sentence. He shook his head repeatedly, trying to deny it. "No. No, no, no, no, no," he whispered. He could feel tears already sliding down his cheeks, but they felt like they were on a deeper level than normal crying. One pulled from the most painful levels of heartbreak.

Coran looked back up at Alfor, who was wincing at his reaction. He couldn't bring himself to speak, but his quivering lip seemed to get his questions across.

Alfor looked like he wished he could be there to support Coran in person, his own eyes filling with new tears. "It was last night. He'd flown to a small uncharted system in a nearby galaxy for some rare material for a project. But apparently the planet he was going to thought he was an enemy ship and…they open-fired," he finished helplessly.

Coran suddenly felt dizzy. He flailed a hand out backwards and grabbed a chair, which Hilo pushed the rest of the way towards him. Sinking into it, his elbows dropped to his knees, and he buried his eyes in his hands, tuning out the rest of the world.

There was no way this could be true. His grandfather may have been a "wild flyer" alone, but he was still an expert at maneuvering any pod out of harm's way. It must've been an ambush. Which only made the news that much more difficult to swallow.

"We already have plans underway to…honor him, in a few days' time," Alfor gently offered. "I'll send someone right away to come get you so you can be here…"

Coran wasn't sure if he'd nodded, let alone if he was even capable of doing so right then. Someone's hand came up and started to rub his back, but no one spoke.

Seren had meant the world to Coran. He'd been a role model, a mentor, and a father figure all in one. Most of what Coran knew had come from deep-space voyages and long nights spent working on projects with his grandfather.

And now that was gone.

A deep ache bore into Coran at that thought, and his shoulders began to shake with his sobs. If Seren had truly been shot down, there wouldn't be much of his quintessence left. It would be that much harder to connect with his life force, to just feel close to him again.

Except for one thing.

Coran brought one of his hands down to his chest and placed it just above his hearts. It was still there, hidden by his uniform. A flat necklace Seren had made him as a gift out of a small chip of a Balmeran crystal, infused with quintessence. _His_ quintessence.

As he sat there, hand clutching at his chest, Coran thought long and hard about his grandfather's memory. Of how he brought life to every room he stepped into, as if he was made of pure quintessence himself.

Soon there was nothing but the necklace and Seren on Coran's mind. He pressed harder and harder against his uniform, willing for something, _anything_ to happen, just to make it seem like he wasn't completely gone. And then suddenly, it did, causing Coran to smile weakly as a shiver ran down his spine.

A tiny pulse of quintessence.

* * *

 _Hey hey! Yes, I am going to finish Coran Week...eventually... Koa, Makulu, and Hilo are all my Voltron OCs (detailed in the day 1 fic), and Seren of course belongs to the wonderful notllorstel on Tumblr. :)_


	4. Promises

**Promises - Coran Week 2016 Day 3: Alforan**

* * *

"I love you."

Allura collapsed into a slumber in King Alfor's arms as another Galra attack hit the Castle of Lions. Alarms were blaring everywhere, yet none of them mattered to the two still-conscious Alteans on the bridge.

Alfor swooped Allura up into his arms, her hair falling loosely. He motioned for Coran to cross over to him. "Take her down to the cryo-pods and put her in one," he instructed, his tone more urgent now than it had been with Allura.

Coran obediently took Allura from his arms, but looked hesitantly up at Alfor. "Wait, what about you? What are you doing?"

Alfor returned to the helm and tried to maneuver the ship out of enemy range. "Whatever I can. Go, I'll be down there in a tick."

There was no time for confusion or questions. Death waited for them all in Zarkon's cannon should they not escape. Whatever Alfor was planning now, Coran was wise to obey. And pray to the Ancients.

Carrying the princess through the halls seemed easier than usual. Adrenaline, Coran found, had that effect. One elevator trip down two floors, a right turn, then down a hall, and he was in the cryo-pod chamber.

After carefully placing Allura in the center pod and making sure she was upright, he pressed a button and watched the glass cover materialize over her face, casting her in a blue tint.

This was fine, Coran reasoned. Now that he had a moment to mull it over, Alfor probably just wanted to take every measure to protect Allura from the war, the _death_ , out there. And what better place available than a pod that sank into the ground out of sight? Granted, it was one of Alfor's more... _unexpected_ ideas, but if they could get the Castle out of danger and do _something_ about Zarkon, then Allura would be out within two quintants, he reckoned.

As Coran fiddled with the pod's settings, Alfor briskly entered the room. He looked like he was masking the fact that he was breathless.

"Is she ready?" he asked, standing in front of her pod.

Coran adjusted the temperature of the pod to cryostasis levels. "Almost. Just need to set the emergency automatic timer to wake her up," he explained, turning to look at Alfor expectedly. "How long should that be?"

He shook his head. "Don't. Someone will be there to wake her."

"What do you mean? Regardless of that there should still be a timer, especially considering what's going on." The confusion was back. Coran could barely make sense of anything. There was no logic in war.

A sigh. "You know what? Never mind. Just..." Alfor trailed off, looking towards the center control panel of the room.

Coran stopped preparing the pod to take a step towards Alfor, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"

Alfor watched his hand for a tick, then grabbed it with his own and, without any warning, leaned in to kiss Coran.

It'd been awhile since they'd kissed, and it caught Coran completely off-guard. He almost stumbled backwards, but Alfor caught him in his arms, pulling him further into the kiss. He pressed into him, feeling his resolve melt as they got lost in each other.

It was a _desperate_ kiss, one that made Coran ache for his king. Everything that he tried to hide while leading the fight against this war, every lost soul on his hands, all shone through. Alfor needed his love to keep him strong, and he was more than willing to oblige. War made people do desperate things.

 _Thunk_.

Coran's eyes flew open to see Alfor's lips moving further away. He...was in a different spot than when he'd closed them. He was...in a cryo-pod?

He locked onto Alfor's sad smile. The kiss. As genuine as it had been, it'd also distracted Coran long enough for Alfor to push him into an open pod. And suddenly he was no longer confused.

Coran made to jump out of the pod, but Alfor was quick to press the button to close it, effectively trapping him. He pounded on the glass with a flat palm, shouting, "No! What are you doing?!" Now _he_ was desperate.

Alfor raised his hand to meet his through the glass. "I'm saving you."

"Don't worry about me! You should be in a pod! Or none of us even! The war, it'll be over in-"

"It won't," Alfor cut him off, sounding too final in his conviction for Coran's comfort. He pressed a few preparatory buttons on the panel off to Coran's left. If only he could snatch his arm away from doing so, put a stop to all this madness. "Please, Coran, just...please..."

Coran didn't even realize he'd started crying. Hot, angry tears trickled endlessly into his mustache. He couldn't let Alfor do this. If he truly thought the war wasn't going to end, then _he_ should've been the one in a pod. Coran could've gotten the Castle out of danger or, at the least, buy the king and princess some time while he fought the Galra himself.

"Allura needs...you," he argued through sobs. He could hear his heart breaking in his voice as it echoed in the pod.

Alfor's voice was soft now as he altered Coran's sentiment. "Needs me to fight. If I can't end this war now myself, then no one can. It'll be too late. But I need to try. But you..." The sad smile was back as he brushed the glass once more with his fingers. "I need you to stay with Allura. Protect her."

Coran watched him look over at Allura, as if it would be the last time. He wanted to curse out Alfor for his request, because he knew it was one he couldn't deny. He drew in a shaky breath and leaned his forehead against Alfor's fingers. The logical, loyal advisor in him was starting to take over again. He didn't know how it would end up now, but he still had a job to do.

"Please, Coran, take care of her."

Coran locked eyes with his king. His best friend. His love. For him, he would die for Allura if it kept her safe. "I promise."

Alfor pressed the button to start the cryostasis process, his eyes never leaving Coran's. The deep freeze seeped quickly into Coran's skin, yet he found his mouth still operative for one last request.

"Please come back."

There was no promise.

* * *

 _Time is an illusion. Totally not still working on a prompt week from over a year ago. This was just a "last thought of the day" idea that just *happened* to fit this prompt, so shh...hope you enjoyed this AU of a flashback! ;)_


End file.
